


Wanted

by Kanouchi



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, OUAT - Freeform, Outlaw Queen - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-02
Updated: 2014-11-07
Packaged: 2018-02-23 20:55:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2555342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kanouchi/pseuds/Kanouchi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A noble thief steals from the Evil Queen and becomes number one on her most wanted list.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This is my first multi chapter fanfiction. I have been thinking about it for a long time, and season 4 has finally catapulted me back into the Outlaw Queen hype. I'm not sure how long it will be yet, but I hope to maintain regular updates! Also, I am relatively new to the fanfiction community, and I know my writing still has a lot of room for improvement. In the meantime, please enjoy this first chapter!

" _It is possible to find love again."_

Amidst the dull sound of horse's hooves and a bumbling carriage, Tinker Bell's words echoed in the back of Regina's mind. Frowning, the queen shook her head a little, wondering where in the world  _that_  had come from. Regina's little adventure with Tinker Bell was no more than distant memory, back during a time when Regina still struggled with the darkness, clinging to whatever light was left within her for dear life.

Like she said, a distant memory.

Regina had long since embraced the darkness. Any hope of happiness for Regina could only happen in one way: killing Snow White.

The image of Snow White's pale head dripping blood onto a spike sent a satisfying chill through Regina. Her dark red lips curled into a grin. She longed for the day when the evil little brat got what she deserved for ruining Regina's happiness. Snow White  _would_  pay. Soon. And then… then Regina could be happy.

So then why had Tinker Bell's words from so long ago popped into her mind?

Sighing, Regina poked her head out of her carriage window and called to the driver. "I'm sorry, did I say I wanted to arrive at the palace by next week? Hurry it up!"

The driver visibly jumped at the sound of Regina's voice. "Y-yes, Your Majesty!" he squeaked. A whip sounded, and the carriage moved noticeably faster.

Regina sat back in her seat with a huff. Her elaborate and not-entirely-breathable attire chaffed against her skin, and not to mention this carriage was beginning to feel terribly stuffy. Regina had put up with travelling for long enough, and exhaustion was finally setting in.

Regina had to remind herself why she was travelling just to keep herself sane. She thought about the past several months. Lately, every day had felt the same: travel throughout the forest and search for Snow White. Sometimes this meant interrogating villages. Sometimes this meant burning them.

The plan seemed promising at first, but now it had been months since Regina had begun, and there was nothing to show for it except countless prisoners and executions, none of them Snow White.

That's why Regina had to make the decision to move to her summer palace in Sherwood Forest several months early. There was no point in scouring the same place when Snow White was nowhere to be found. Moving discreetly to a new place and search out new territory would give Regina a temporary element of surprise and the fresh start she knew she needed.

Regina relaxed a little and sat back. Her eyes turned toward the window which she had cracked open to let some air in. It was already dark out, so all she could make out was blackness blurring with more blackness (Rather than stop for the night and wait to arrive the next morning, Regina had insisted on traveling a few more hours into the night in order to finish the journey already). The faint scent of forest tainted he nostrils. Regina never knew why, but she always loved the smell of the forest.

" _There he is. The guy with the lion tattoo."_

Regina jolted forward. Okay, seriously? The monotony of the days' travel must finally be getting to her, she determined. Regina poked her head out the window and braced to snap at the driver again when she was interrupted.

"We are here, Your Majesty!" the scrawny bearded man called to her.

Regina let out a happy sigh as her mouth curved into a rare smile of relief.  _Finally._  She longed to march straight up to her chamber, change in to a comfortable nightgown, and get a decent night's rest before beginning the search for Snow White tomorrow. Actually feeling a little excited, Regina drew nearer to the window of the carriage to catch a glimpse of her summer home.

When she looked upon the palace which resided on a cliffside overlooking a sparkling black lake, she couldn't make out much. The dark castle outline was still visible against the starry sky, and torches flickered along the gates and walls. Regina's eyes wandered up to the tallest tower, where her personal chamber was located. The thought of the cozy bed that awaited her gave way to another rare, hopeful smile, until she noticed another flickering torch, only this one was inside her chamber… and it was moving. Regina's smile quickly gave way to a sneer.

"Stop. Stop!" she ordered.

The carriage came to an abrupt halt. The driver hastily hopped off to open the door for Regina, but she was already out and storming up to the gates. "Your Maj—?"

" _Someone_  is in my palace," she sneered. "Someone who doesn't belong."

* * *

"Absolutely not, Little John." Robin sighed, scratching his head and turning to walk away like he always did when something potentially risky was suggested to him. "You remember what happened the last time we tried robbing a sorceress's castle."

Little John walked briskly beside his leader. "That was different, Robin. You know everything would have been fine with Maleficent's castle if that bloke Will Scarlet hadn't ruined everything!" Little John took hold of both of Robin's shoulders and looked him in the eye. "This is _me_ , Robin. You can trust me. Remember what I said. This is the queen's summer home. Winter just barely ended, and everyone knows she's preoccupied with finding that Snow White girl. When the queen's not there, there are hardly enough guards to hinder us." Little John's pleading eyes searched Robin's. "Come  _on_ , Robin. It'll be a jackpot!"

Robin's mouth formed into a thin line as he looked down and shook his head. Robin never liked to put his men in more danger than necessary, and for someone like the evil queen,  _dangerou_ s was an understatement. "I just don't know, Little John."

Little John paused for a moment. "Look," he began with a more serious tone. "You know all the things the queen has done. She kills people, Robin. Tortures them. Burns down their villages. And just look at her, with all the riches in the kingdom. It's just not right for someone so evil to take away all that her subjects have. Think about all the people she's hurt, Robin.  _We can help them._ "

Robin stood silently for a moment, cursing Little John for knowing his weakness. Finally, he took a deep breath and looked Little John in the eye. "Okay, what's your plan?"

* * *

As Robin and his band prepared for the night's work out in edge of Sherwood Forest next to the queen's summer palace, Robin still wasn't sure if this was a good idea. He had come close to commanding everyone to turn back at least three times on the journey here. Nevertheless, somehow they had made it, and Robin called out in a loud whisper, "Men, are you ready?" They all nodded, and Robin turned back toward the castle. The castle appeared ominous, black against the black sky. Just as Little John had said, there were few guards since the queen was not present. Getting past them wouldn't be the hardest thing his men had ever done. Taking a deep breath, Robin motioned forward, and the Merry Men split up sneakily in formation to get past the gates. Robin, of course, had the most dangerous objective: get into the queen's chamber. At first he had been against the idea of going near there at all, but Little John insisted that it would be a waste to rob the queen's castle if they didn't rob her own chamber, where he claimed the "best stuff" was. Robin agreed only under the condition that he would be the only one to venture there.

Once successfully past the guards and inside the castle, Little John signaled to Robin that he and the other men would quietly search the castle. Robin acknowledged him and soon set out for the staircase Little John had described. (How Little John had known so much about the castle, Robin wasn't quite sure. Like all of his Merry Men, Little John had a mysterious past.)

The castle, having been largely unused for several months, felt cold and damp. Robin took hold of one of the torches upon the wall in order to better make out the darkness ahead of him. Upon finding the stairwell John had described, Robin began his ascent. After a few minutes of climbing stairs, he wasn't sure how the queen even managed, but at last he arrived at her chamber. The door was tall, wooden, and of course decorated with intricate motifs.  _Only the rich could afford to encrust the doors with jewels,_  Robin thought as he slowly pushed it open with a slight creak and slipped inside.

The chamber was indeed large. From his dim torchlight, Robin could make out a wide bed with a canopy of drapes standing near the far corner. On the opposite wall was huge window overlooking the lake and forest, and next to it an enormous wardrobe, no doubt filled with the queen's many elaborate gowns. A large, full-length mirror followed, along with several other lavish furniture items. Robin grunted in annoyance. No doubt the queen had taken most of her valuables with her, but there had to be some things here he could more easily steal. The queen couldn't carry everything with her after all.

At last, Robin's eyes fell on a vanity on top of which sat a golden box encrusted with jewels and designs. Excitement ignited, and Robin quickly paced forward and opened it. Inside were any number of sparkling jewels. Probably not the queen's best jewels, he thought, but enough to feed a village for long enough. Robin quickly began scooping the jewels into a small pouch hanging off his belt. He envisioned the starving villages he had come across recently and imagined them full and happy. Doing this whenever he stole always kept him going, convincing himself he was doing the right thing.

After scouring the chamber for anything else of value, Robin heard a commotion from below.  _Oh no_ , he thought with a sinking feeling. Knowing that they had finally been caught, he prepared to make his escape. Robin patted himself to make sure he had everything and quickly drew his bow from his back just in case. Feeling confident that he could quickly make his escape, Robin turned back towards the entrance to the chamber…

…only to come face-to-face with perhaps the most terrifying woman he had ever seen. What he could make out of her deep red lips curled upward into a sneer, and her dark, painted eyes rose to meet his.

"Going somewhere?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A noble thief steals from the Evil Queen and becomes number one on her most wanted list.

With the door slightly ajar, Regina slowly and quietly peered inside. A dim torchlight flickered through the darkness, only this time she could make out just who was holding it. From this angle, she distinguish a tall man with broad shoulders and a bow strapped to his back along with a quiver of arrows. He was turned away, but he wore a green leather tunic over a baggy white shirt and a green cape draped over his back. The whole scene felt strangely familiar to Regina.

She shook the stray thought and stealthily stepped through the doorway. The intruder hadn’t yet noticed her, but upon the sound of a commotion from below – finally her guards were doing something useful, it seemed – he appeared to decide that it was time to leave. Regina braced herself as the intruder reached back for his bow and turned around almost straight into her.

Surprise and fear mixed together on his features. “Going somewhere?” she said with a slow grin. Through the dim torchlight Regina could make out a (she wouldn’t say _handsome_ ) face. His eyes were pale and blue, and he had a well trimmed beard to match his short light brown hair. He had a very set way about his face, and his intense eyes bore into hers. Regina had only a moment to notice this, however, before the thief made a bolt for the door.

Regina quickly spun around and waved her hand, slamming the door shut. Stopping, the thief grabbed an arrow from his quiver and nocked it on his bow, pointing it straight at Regina, but before he could let it fly, she waved her hand once more, and a purple veil of mist settled around him, hindering his movements. The intruder struggled against the enchantment, but to no avail.

Satisfied, Regina paused , and her eyes fell upon a small pouch fastened around the intruder’s waist. From inside it the faint glimmer shone through. “Are those my jewels?” Regina interrogated. She lunged forward and snatched the pouch. “How _dare_ you!” She was tired, she was irritated, and now she was being robbed, and the whole situation was about to drive her mad. She began pacing back and forth as she spoke. “Who thinks they can come into _my_ castle when I’m away, break into _my_ chamber, and steal from me like I’m a simpleton!” Regina paused and stared at the thief, waiting for an answer. He merely struggled still against the binding spell, making muffled sounds as he tried to speak. Regina rolled her eyes, flicked a finger, and released the spell from his mouth. He gasped for air.  “Well! Who are you!” she spat.

“Robin of Loxley,” the thief panted after a moment of catching his breath. And yet somehow (the _nerve_ ) he managed a smirk and added, “At your service,” with as much a bow of his head as he could muster.

Regina scoffed, raising her hand into a curved shape, choking him. His audacious little smirk twisted in pain. “Well, Robin of Loxley, what makes you think you can break into the queen’s castle and get away with it!”

She released him once more to let him speak. He took his time gasping for air again. Still, after a moment he uttered, “Well, in my defense I was doing fairly well until you showed up early—”

“ENOUGH!” Regina bellowed, hands trembling as she balled them into fists. As if she had time or patience for sassy, impudent criminals. “Guards! GUARDS!”

“What are you going to do with me?” the thief rasped in a more serious and pleading tone than before.

Regina turned around. Oh, how she loved that question. With a slow smile, the queen stepped forward until she was only inches away from the bow and arrow he still held taught and stared straight into those intense, pale eyes. “What I always do to stuck up criminals who think they can outdo me,” she enunciated, feeling the fire in her maniacal glare as she spoke. “I take off their heads.”

The thief continued to stare boldly at her. Regina huffed, annoyed. The tension broke, and turning sharply away from him, she called out for her guards once more.  The sound of hurried footsteps echoed up the stairs at last. “Yes, Your Majesty!” the guards said, having finally arrived at her chamber.

“Take this thief to his cell. He is to be beheaded in the morning,” Regina said with a more passive tone, crossing her arms and backing away as the guards took hold of the thief.

“Er, You Majesty?” they said when they began having trouble moving him. “Oh,” Regina said. She waved her hand and removed the binding spell.

And immediately regretted it.

The arrow that had been poised for shooting since the moment the thief had come under the spell left the bow with a _twang!_ It flew through the air and straight into the shoulder of one of the guards. The rest of the guards ducked and scrambled out of the way as the thief nocked another arrow and aimed it all around. Regina stepped forward to attack but was barely able to raise her hand before she was knocked aside by a flash of green as the thief went racing down the stairwell.

Growling in anger, Regina looked back to her guards, all of whom were recovering from the thief’s surprise attack. “You buffoons! After him!” she ordered. The guards quickly scrambled up and stumbled down the stairwell (including the injured one with the help of a few others), but Regina knew they wouldn’t be fast enough. Fury and frustration boiled up inside of her, having been outwitted so easily by a common thief.  She rushed to the window overlooking the forest and stared down at the sight of an entire band of men escaping the castle gates, led no doubt by the Robin of Loxley, easily dodging arrows and outrunning her disheveled guards.  Throwing the window open, Regina conjured a fireball and threw it at the band with a furious screech. It blasted down upon them with a great yellow glow, but once it had dissipated, the band continued onward with only charred clothing. They soon escaped into the forest, where no doubt they knew the territory well. Even her guards gave up once they had passed the gates.

Regina marched about, hands trembling, teeth grinding with anger, and chest hot with shame. She recalled the face of that overconfident, cunning thief and wished she could have just ripped out his heart when she had the chance. The way he so foolishly thought he could steal from the _queen_. She took a deep, shaking breath.

There was at least one consolation, Regina thought.  He may have gotten away, but at least he didn’t manage to steal her jewels. Reginareached down to her waist where she had strapped the pouch earlier. Her fingers grabbed at nothing but air, however, and when she glanced down she was met with nothing more than her gown. She thought back to when the thief had knocked her aside and she was fuming once more.

At last Regina abruptly halted her pacing in front of her vanity. “Mirror!” she snapped. A cloud of familiar blue smoke poured into the round mirror on the wall, and a shadowy face appeared.

“Yes, Your Majesty?” the face said in a solemn voice.

Regina took a moment to compose herself and walked slowly toward the mirror.

“Mirror. I need you to keep an eye out.”

“Your Majesty I’ve told you, there’s been no sign of Snow White. She knows to stay away from mirrors—”

“Not her!” Regina huffed indignantly. She glanced toward the window. “There’s someone else. Someone who has stolen from me, humiliated me, and deserves to be punished.”

“Who, Your Majesty?” the Mirror enquired with the slightest tone of curiosity.

Out of the corner of her eye, Regina noticed something left on the ground. Turning, she picked it up and found it to be an arrow that had been loosed by the thief just as he made his escape but never found its target. Examining it, she stepped back toward the window and gazed out into the forest where the thieves had fled. She snapped the arrow in half and it disintegrated to the floor.

“His name is Robin of Loxley.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments give me life!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please review so I can know what you think!


End file.
